# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 316
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6327 "2020-12-30T04:15:20Z")
It’s not just limited to the SDMB, newbreakers though we are: Bloomberg article (paywalled) [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-09/iran-says-u-s-sanctions-preventing-purchases-of-covid-vaccines](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-09/iran-says-u-s-sanctions-preventing-purchases-of-covid-vaccines) Human Rights Watch: > **[Joint Statement: Ensure Iranians Equitable Access to Covid-19 Vaccines](https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/22/joint-statement-ensure-iranians-equitable-access-covid-19-vaccines)** > > We, the undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations, call on all stakeholders to ensure people in Iran have swift, unencumbered, and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable Covid-19 vaccines. Washington Post: > **[U.S. sanctions could impede Iran’s access to coronavirus vaccines, experts say](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-covax-coronavirus-vaccine-sanctions/2020/12/07/61a721f8-3632-11eb-9699-00d311f13d2d_story.html)** > > The outbreak in Iran is the largest in the Middle East, with at least 50,000 reported dead. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6328 "2020-12-30T04:15:35Z")
ETA: damnit! but I’ll leave the links anyway. Bloomberg allows a certain number of views. > **[Iran’s top banker says US blocking COVID-19 vaccine purchase](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/7/iran-says-us-blocking-covid-19-vaccine-purchase)** > > Central bank chief says US trying to prevent efforts to purchase vaccine through the WHO’s COVAX programme. The next two are Bloomberg links. Discourse doesn’t like them, but the links are good. [iran-says-u-s-sanctions-preventing-purchases-of-covid-vaccines](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-09/iran-says-u-s-sanctions-preventing-purchases-of-covid-vaccines) The US made an exemption in the sanctions to allow Iran to buy vaccines from the WHO “under pressure from world public opinion.”. [iran-finds-way-to-buy-covid-vaccine-despite-u-s-sanctions](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-24/iran-finds-way-to-buy-covid-vaccine-despite-u-s-sanctions) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6329 "2020-12-30T04:29:30Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I like reading medical history but don’t see a smallpox title, at [amazon.com](http://amazon.com), that seems to stand out. Do you know enough to recommend one? I’ve done some research on this. Here’s one: [The Greatest Killer (Smallpox in History, With A New Introduction): Hopkins, Donald R.: 9780226351681: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Killer-Smallpox-History/dp/0226351688) There’s also acres of (free!) info on the WHO’s eradication program. Here’s their report, which is excellent: [Smallpox and its eradication / F. Fenner … [‎‎et al.]‎‎ (who.int)](https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39485) and other ancillary stuff here: [WHO | The Smallpox Eradication Programme - SEP (1966-1980)](https://www.who.int/features/2010/smallpox/en/) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6330 "2020-12-30T05:53:20Z")
82,327,498 total cases 1,796,545 dead 58,338,906 recovered In the US: 19,977,704 total cases 346,579 dead 11,844,472 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 81,673,086 total cases > 1,781,539 dead > 57,799,127 recovered > > In the US: > > 19,781,624 total cases > 343,182 dead > 11,696,727 recovered The US will exceed 20,000,000 total cases tomorrow. There is a small chance that US deaths will exceed 350,000 tomorrow as well. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6331 "2020-12-30T08:16:26Z")
You seem to have missed my actual point that all countries worked together, even countries that hate each other with an unbridled passion. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6332 "2020-12-30T10:16:06Z")
The UK has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which doesn’t need to be stored at extremely low temperatures. This will be a game-changer as it doesn’t need to be stored at very low temperatures, especially for those countries without the ultra cold storage infrastructure. The length of time between the first two doses is also 12 weeks which also means a lot more people can get some form of protection more quickly. But it’s not clear what percentage of protection this vaccine programme will have. > **[UK to roll out Astra/Oxford COVID vaccine after world-first approval](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-vaccine/britain-first-to-approve-astrazeneca-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKBN2940KS?il=0)** > > Britain on Wednesday became the first country to approve the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, hoping that rapid action will help it stem a record surge of infections driven by a highly contagious form of the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6333 "2020-12-30T10:21:48Z")
I really should read my sentences back after I post them… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6334 "2020-12-30T14:55:56Z")
especially when you’re posting at extremely low temperatures, I gather. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6335 "2020-12-30T15:17:52Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Congressman-elect from Louisiana, Luke Letlow, has just died from COVID-19. He was 41. He looked to be in reasonably good shape. It’s another reminder that everyone is at risk of dying from covid-19. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6336 "2020-12-30T17:10:39Z")
To clarify the situation in the UK re the A-Z vaccine: it (like the Pfizer vaccine before it) has not been licensed; rather: > This medicinal product has been given authorisation for temporary supply by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It does not have a marketing authorisation, but this temporary authorisation grants permission for the medicine to be used for active immunisation of individuals aged 18 years and older for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). [This is the source document](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-approval-of-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca/information-for-healthcare-professionals-on-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca#clinical-particulars), the most interesting sections of which are (to my mind, anyway): > **Posology** > > The COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccination course consists of two separate doses of 0.5 ml each. The second dose should be administered between 4 and 12 weeks after the first dose (see section 5.1). The intention in the UK seems to be to stick to 12 weeks\*. This would have the effect of widening the initial rollout, providing a decent measure of protection for as many people as possible as quickly as possible. However, there appears to be more to it than that: > Because of logistical constraints, the interval between dose 1 and dose 2 [in the clinical studies] ranged from 4 to 26 weeks. and > Exploratory analyses showed that increased immunogenicity was associated with a longer dose interval (see Immunogenicity Table 3). Efficacy is currently demonstrated with more certainty for dose intervals from 8 to 12 weeks. Data for intervals longer than 12 weeks are limited. So there does seem to be a rationale for the 12 week gap between doses. For summarised efficacy data (including efficacy after dose 1), see the first table in section 5.1. Note that the column headings to the table are out of alignment with the body of the table -but you’ll figure it out. Looks like the documentation was published rather hastily - not a surprise; and chapeau to the poor sods who spent Christmas working on this. j (\*) - I’ll see if I can find a decent cite for this later ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6337 "2020-12-30T17:16:27Z")
Missed the edit with: ETA - BTW [the BBC reports that](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55280671) > Trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine also showed that when people were given a half dose then a full dose, effectiveness hit 90%. > > But there was not enough clear data to approve the half-dose, full-dose idea. j ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6338 "2020-12-30T22:51:43Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > So there does seem to be a rationale for the 12 week gap between doses. One rationale may be in data that hasn’t yet appeared in a good medical journal, but that was available to British regulators. The other rationale is that some protection is better than none, and that no one has died of COVID contracted more than ten days of so of the first shot, or even met hospitalization criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6339 "2020-12-31T01:16:05Z")
It looks like Missouri, Tennessee and Nevada are set to join the club of states with more than 1,000 deaths per million population by year’s end. With a rate of 1056 deaths per million, the USA is currently in 7th place among countries with more than 10 million population. Czechia and UK are at 1066, so the USA may well catch up and be at #5 in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6340 "2020-12-31T01:33:10Z")
No offense but that post sounds like someone hoping for it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6341 "2020-12-31T02:43:51Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > No offense but that post sounds like someone hoping for it… **Moderator Warning** That is actually quite deliberately offensive. I told you very recently not to be snarky to other posters. This is an official warning for being a jerk and failure to follow moderator instructions. Another one like that and you will find yourself banned from this thread. Colibri Quarantine Zone Moderator ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6342 "2020-12-31T03:24:57Z")
Well, isn’t this just swell. Five hundred doses had to be thrown out. > **[FBI investigating COVID-19 vaccine 'tampering' after Aurora says employee...](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2020/12/30/wisconsin-covid-19-vaccine-thrown-out-intentionally-aurora-employee-grafton-clinic-fired/4095107001/)** > > An initial investigation led Aurora officials to believe the removal was a mistake, but the now-fired individual said Wednesday it was purposeful. The person has already been fired. Maybe jail next? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6343 "2020-12-31T04:20:59Z")
If it was their intention to make it unusable then there should be criminal charges for sure. It’s a tad weird that the confession quote doesn’t actually include that kind of thing. Maybe they “intentionally removed” the vaccine with the intention of stealing it … umm, for orphans. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6344 "2020-12-31T05:05:03Z")
83,066,659 total cases 1,812,188 dead 58,868,485 recovered In the US: 20,216,991 total cases 350,778 dead 11,998,794 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 82,327,498 total cases > 1,796,545 dead > 58,338,906 recovered > > In the US: > > 19,977,704 total cases > 346,579 dead > 11,844,472 recovered The US death toll managed to go well over 350,000 today thanks to 3,880 deaths (a new and soon-to-broken single day record, btw). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6345 "2020-12-31T05:08:35Z")
And license revocation, if it’s relevant. I started a Pit thread about this story. If you don’t believe in it for yourself, that’s fine, but DO NOT prevent other people from getting theirs! ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6346 "2020-12-31T05:15:27Z")
Wow. This makes me think that all storage of the vaccines should have some kind of protocol where no single person can access it. Like, it should take 2 people. This time, it was ruining it in an obvious way. There must be people out there, though, who would tamper with it in invisible ways if there were any opportunity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=315) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=317)